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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348143">the twelfth night cafe</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/azunshi/pseuds/azunshi'>azunshi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Compliant, Confessions, Crossdressing, M/M, Maid Nishinoya Yuu, School Festivals, this fic was very self-indulgent</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:21:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,784</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348143</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/azunshi/pseuds/azunshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>The line shuffles along slowly and Asahi, growing weary of trying to see what was going on in the classroom, decides to watch the dance club practicing outside. It’s only when they’ve nearly reached the end of the line when Suga nudges Asahi’s side. </p>
  <p>“Oh, Noya looks really cute in that outfit."</p>
  <p>With a frown, Asahi turns fully around to peer into the classroom windows. His eyes widen at the sight of one of the boys wearing a maid costume, complete with the frilly cap and apron and white leggings, and a smile before his gaze flits around the boys in the class. It’s only when his gaze settles on the last boy, whose back is turned, does his heart do a slow flip in his chest. His mouth starts falling open when the boy turns, revealing the familiar curve of lips and lively eyes and that section of blond hair contrasting sharply with the rest of his dark hair.</p>
</blockquote>where Nishinoya Yuu dresses up in a maid costume for the school's cultural festival.
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Asanoya (main pairing)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the twelfth night cafe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>the question is "will i ever stop writing self-indulgent fics that turn out wayyyy longer than i expected?"</p><p>the answer is a resounding "no!"</p><p>anyway noya in a maid outfit is something that i've been thinking about for awhile now so i hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nishinoya liked dresses and skirts. He liked the flowy ones that swept and billowed with every step. He liked the short ones that looked playful and flirty at the same time. He liked the tight ones that hugged the figure and made a girl look fierce and powerful. Simply put, Nishinoya loved the way dresses and skirts looked but he didn’t expect that one day he’d end up wearing one for school.</p><p>“It’s … very breezy down there,” he remarks as he steps out of the changing room, hands gripping the hem of his dress, cheeks flushed. He had always been a fan of skirts or dresses that were halfway down the thighs but now that he was dressed in a maid outfit whose skirt part was at that length, it was a different, though not necessarily bad, thing. </p><p>Nishinoya half-expects his classmates, the girls who were waiting for him, to laugh at his discomfort but instead, all he gets are understanding nods. “Well, you could wear these,” one of them, Tomoko-chan, suggests as she holds up a pack of leggings, “or you could wear safety shorts underneath and over-the-knee socks.”</p><p>“<em>Ehhh? </em> Noya-san looks really adorable,” remarks one of his female classmates, all starry-eyed as she grins ear-to-ear at Nishinoya. “I’d love to take a picture of you!”</p><p>“No, thank you!” Nishinoya darts behind Tomoko, red-faced. “I’m not ready for the world to see me in this yet,” he protests since his outfit isn’t complete yet.</p><p>Tomoko giggles and hands Nishinoya the items she showed him earlier. “Anyway, I’m really glad you’re not putting up much of a fight about this entire thing,” she says with a smile.</p><p>“Remind me why I’m here again?” asks Nishinoya as the other male classmates of his step out from the adjacent changing rooms, both looking embarrassed to be dressed up in maid outfits as well. </p><p>“Because we were all pitching ideas for the school culture festival and somehow ‘maid cafe’ had a majority of the votes?” Tomoko says as she adjusts the outfit of her male peers, Hiroto, whose heads are hung low in shame. “But then someone said it was unoriginal,” she adds, giving the boy whose corset she was adjusting a look, “before someone else had a brilliant idea for the girls to be dressed as butlers and the guys as maids.”</p><p>“We didn’t think you’d all take it seriously,” mutters Takumi, another boy who was trying on the cap to complete his outfit.</p><p>“What? As class president, when have I not taken anything lightly?” laughs Tomoko as she gives the corset strings a sharp yank, earning a ‘Oof’ from Hiroto. “Anyway, you guys drew the lots for the maids outfit so stick with it.”</p><p>The boys sigh together, resigned over their fates, but Nishinoya simply pursed his lips. Unlike them, he didn’t have any qualms about getting dressed in a maid outfit and thought it’d just be a fun experience. Besides, if anyone decided to be mean about it, he could either kindly tell them it was cosplay and that their shitty attitude was not welcome at this time of the century or resort to punching if they wanted to be a dick about it.</p><p>After trying out the shorts and socks option, Nishinoya takes a good look at himself in the mirror while the girls flocked around the boys and gushed over how adorable they looked. To be completely honest, he didn’t look half bad. The skirt part was flared out from his waist, drawing the eyes to his legs, which made them look nice and long. The frilly parts also looked cute on him and if he put on a bit of charm and innocence into his smile —</p><p>“Oh, that’s absolutely adorable!” squeals Miyu, one of the butler girls, when she catches Nishinoya smiling. “That’s the kind of smile that’ll bring in the customers,” she says when Nishinoya blushes.</p><p>“Ok, if everyone is satisfied with their outfits and all, we should get going,” says Tomoko, rounding everyone up to pay for their outfits.</p><p>On the way to the station, Nishinoya can’t help peering at the contents of the bag in his hands. The strange mix of exhilaration and nervousness has been bubbling in his stomach for some time now. Although he felt a bit embarrassed when he tried on the maid costume earlier—and also because it’s the first time he’s seen so much of his own legs in an outfit—some part of him found the whole experience fun and enjoyable. </p><p>His phone vibrates in his pocket, tugging him out of his thoughts. Nishinoya checks it to find several texts from the volleyball group chat, one from his grandfather and two from Tanaka. He checks the volleyball team’s one, and isn’t surprised to find that the topic of the culture festival is still being talked about in the chat. Aside from what the volleyball club will be doing for the festival, everyone’s been trying to subtly ask each other what their classes would be doing. Of course, all the beating around the bush didn’t help since no one was going to spoil the surprise or let slip but Nishinoya, tired of all the sneaky questions that’s been circulating in the chat for the past few days, tells them ‘My class is doing a maid and butler cafe concept.’</p><p>The group chat comes to life, everyone asking direct questions now but, Nishinoya being in a mischievous good mood, tells them that they should all look forward to it.</p><p>See, Nishinoya has always been a ‘do first, think later’ kind of guy so it takes him about a solid minute of feeling satisfied with the chaos he caused before realizing the implications of his actions. Now that everyone is expressing how much they’re looking forward to what Nishinoya’s class would be doing, he realizes that this means they’d all take the time out of their busy schedules on the day to visit his class. And see him in the maid outfit.</p><p>It’s not his teammates’ possible opinions that he minds but Asahi’s that makes him wonder if he could turn back time and not have texted the group what his class would be doing. Nishinoya considers deleting the message altogether but when Asahi too says that he can’t wait to see what Nishinoya’s class has to offer, Nishinoya realizes all is lost.</p><p>See, Nishinoya likes Asahi, in a totally un-platonic kind of way. It started off as him thinking of Asahi as a really cool upperclassman he’d love to be friends with to getting to know Asahi as more than just someone who happens to be in the same club as he is to being smacked with the realization one day that he had massive feelings for Asahi. Admittedly it took him a whole year to understand the feelings he felt around Asahi, but he did his best not to make a big deal about it. Or let Asahi know about it. He liked Asahi, sure, and they were good friends but that didn’t mean that Nishinoya could kick a door down and confess his feelings for Asahi. </p><p>Anyway, Nishinoya wanted to be a cool person to Asahi and he had doubts whether being dressed in a maid outfit, dishing out those cute and charming smiles of his to the customers would help his case. What if Asahi thinks it's un-Nishinoya-like to do and that it’s a bit weird? And what if he started seeing Nishinoya differently, in a way that’s against his favor? What if the maid outfit ruined his impression of Nishinoya? </p><p>Thankfully, he doesn’t have any club practice the next day so he does his best to avoid Asahi at all costs. The other second-years try to pry out the information out of him but he remains mum, and so do his classmates. Tomoko had been very strict with them about ruining the surprise. </p><p>“You’re no fun at all,” grumbles Tanaka when Tomoko refuses, with a smile, to let him in on what Class 2-3 would be doing for the culture festival. “How are we going to look forward to it if we don’t know what we’re looking forward to?”</p><p>“Well, Noya-kun telling you it’s a maid and butler cafe should be enough information, right?” says Tomoko. </p><p>“At least tell us the name of the cafe,” says Ennoshita, eyebrows furrowing together. Tomoko stares at him and he stares back, leading to a very long and awkward silent battle of the wills. Nishinoya didn’t take sides the whole time but he couldn’t help shaking his head in amusement when Tomoko sighs and rolls her eyes; Ennoshita can be pretty convincing when he wanted to.</p><p>“It’s called The Twelfth Night Cafe,” says Tomoko, crossing her arms and frowning. “There, figure it out yourselves what that means.” With that, she flounces back into the classroom, leaving Kinoshita, Narita and Tanaka scratching their heads. Ennoshita, like the smarty-pants he is, gets it right away, his eyebrows arching towards his hairline.</p><p>“That sounds like a creative name,” says Narita, “but what does it mean?” They turn to Ennoshita for an answer but Ennoshita shrugs.</p><p>“Figure it out yourselves,” he echoes after Tomoko, much to the annoyance of his friends, but gives Nishinoya a pat on the shoulder that’s probably either supportive or sympathetic, or both, when the bell rings.</p><p>Nishinoya hopes his friends have it in their hearts to keep it to themselves, once they’ve figured it out, but over the next few days, they don’t seem to be acting any different than usual. </p><p><em> Eh, they probably forgot about it</em>, Nishinoya tells himself as he watches the three of them playing swordfight with the brooms after club practice until Daichi yells at them to stop. Ennoshita hasn’t acted weirdly either, although Ennoshita has always been a cool and unruffled guy to begin with so Nishinoya could trust him.</p><p>“So, what’s your class doing for the culture festival?” asks Asahi when they’re putting away the equipment in the store room.</p><p>Nishinoya gives a slight start but manages to hide it by throwing his head back with a laugh. “Not you too, Asahi-san,” he sighs in mock-exasperation although his tone warbles at the end. “I thought I mentioned it in the group chat the other day.”</p><p>Asahi smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I mean, a maid and butler concept is … —” He breaks off with a shrug. “I’m sorry I can’t help it. I just keep wondering if you’re going to be dressing up and serving the customers, or preparing the meals, or being the cashier, or — Well, you get my point,” he adds with a laugh.</p><p>Nishinoya’s heart pounds as the words threaten to slip onto his tongue. There’s a fine line between wanting to tell Asahi everything and being able to tell Asahi everything. Before he can decide whether to rip the bandaid off and tell Asahi he would be crossdressing for the event and risk losing his friendship or act coy, Asahi continues.</p><p>“Is it weird if I say that I was wondering how you’d be a butler and all?” he asks.</p><p>Nishinoya blinks. “Well, no,” he answered truthfully when his eyebrows pinch together. “But, what about me being a butler? Is it weird?”</p><p>“Not at all! I think you’d be able to pull off the suit,” says Asahi, putting his hands up. “I mean, doesn’t everyone look good in a suit? Even women look good in a suit.” He pauses with a small, embarrassed look on his face. “Anyway, I think you’d look great dressed up like that. But you’re usually so loud and straightforward so I was wondering how you’d <em> act </em> as a butler.” </p><p>For a moment Nishinoya doesn’t say anything. <em> Oh, Asahi</em>, he can only think, <em> if only you knew</em>. Then he chuckles, feeling both flattered and dismayed that Asahi’s been thinking so hard about that, shaking his head. “So you’re saying you think I don’t have what it takes to be —”, he holds his nose up high, straightens his posture, assumes the snobbiest expression he can muster, folds one arm over his front and the other behind his back, “—a proper butler worth serving the most dignified of patrons who have decided to grace our establishment with their noble presence?”</p><p>Asahi laughs, a wonderful hearty sound that fills Nishinoya insides with warmth. “Ok, you clearly have what it takes,” he acknowledges, putting his hands up. “I’m sorry for doubting you.”</p><p>Nishinoya waves his hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s cool. Give me like ten minutes of serving all those customers and I’ll probably start going back to usual myself.”</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll do wonderful,” says Asahi with a smile. It’s always supportive and genuine statements like these from him that makes Nishinoya’s heart swell tenfold in his chest and remind him how much he adores Asahi. “I mean, you are the Nishinoya Yuu,” adds Asahi. “You can handle anything,” he says with a convinced nod.</p><p><em> Except for the fear of what you’ll think of me after you see me in a dress</em>, thinks Nishinoya but thanks Asahi for his kind words. They walk out of the storage room and bump into Shouyou, who seems flustered for some reason. Asahi goes on ahead but Nishinoya turns to a fidgeting Shouyou.</p><p>“So you’re going to be a butler?” he asks with wide brown eyes. He looked like a little tangerine-colored puppy looking at Nishinoya like that, all hopeful and excited. Nishinoya can only smile, while his secret threatens to burst from him the longer he remains in Shouyou’s presence.</p><p>“You’ll see,” he tells Shouyou..</p><p>Fast forward the week to the eagerly-anticipated cultural festival. While the first day was exciting in its own right, it mostly consisted of showcases from the various clubs during the school assembly for the whole morning that Nishinoya didn’t remember much of. Nishinoya wakes up early the next day with a mix of dread and excitement.</p><p>Today would be a busy day for him, starting with running the stall for the volleyball club in the morning before helping his class out with the cafe in the afternoon. The volleyball club stall would be no sweat; it would be held at the gymnasiums and all the club members had to do was supervise the games they’ve set up for interested students and visitors as well as answer any questions people had for them about the club. It’s the cafe that Nishinoya is a little anxious about.</p><p>Tomoko, along with the class vice-president Aya, had spent the past week whipping the maids and butlers into shape by teaching them the proper way to act, how to serve customers and every other etiquette they had to bear in mind. It was tiring but Tomoko was a force to be reckoned with so most of her lessons had stuck in his mind.</p><p><em> Don’t style your hair up, okay? </em>Tomoko’s words echo in his head as he brushes his teeth. <em> And please get dressed as soon as you’re finished with your shift at the volleyball club stall</em>. </p><p>Nishinoya sighs, hands braced against the sides of his sink. He hasn’t left home in ages without styling his hair up and even though he doesn’t really care about what people think of his appearance, he hates the thought of looking his actual height.</p><p>After careful deliberation, he leaves the house with a black cap worn backwards over his head. His new look doesn’t go unnoticed by the club members, who are quick to ask if there’s any special reason why he’s wearing a cap. </p><p>“Did you dye your hair for the event?” asks Shouyou, eyes wide.</p><p>Nishinoya laughs. “Nah, the class president told me not to style my hair up. It might clash with my outfit,” he says.</p><p>Tsukishima arches his eyebrows. “Honestly, I can’t imagine you dressed as a butler,” he remarks and Nishinoya cringes. </p><p>Shouyou simply laughs, sending an apologetic shrug in Nishinoya’s way. “Sorry, was it supposed to be a secret?”</p><p>“Have you told anyone else?”</p><p>“Um. Just the other first-years,” admits Shouyou with a sheepish fidget of his fingers. “But I made them promise not to tell anyone else! Also, I figured the second-years probably already know since you’re close with them and I won’t be surprised if Asahi-san tells Daichi-san and Suga-san.”</p><p>Nishinoya sighs, counting mentally from one to three as he comes to terms that he’ll be blowing out everyone’s expectations out of the water when they visit his class. Normally he’s all about surprising people but he hopes him in a maid costume won’t disappoint his friends. Putting on a huge smile, he pats Shouyou on the back and gives the two first-years a thumbs-up. </p><p>(He’s supposed to say something after the gesture but he couldn’t think of anything so he goes back to putting up the last minute touches to the stall.)</p><p>The gymnasium filled up quickly this morning, throngs of students and visitors, mostly family members of the students, coming to visit everybody’s stall. The hours for Nishinoya’s shift seem to pass by in the blink of an eye; he could’ve sworn he was greeting the first visitor a moment ago but now the teachers are telling them to wrap it all up.</p><p>“Agh, already?” Nishinoya sighs as soon as one of the teachers walks out of earshot from their stall.</p><p>Kinoshita chuckles. “Why? Are you not looking forward to later?” he asks.</p><p>“It’s not that.” Nishinoya elbows Kinoshita, rolling his eyes. “I’m just feeling a little nervous since everyone’s looking forward to seeing me all dressed up,” he admits. The club members exchange sheepish smiles and apologetic nods but Nishinoya waves it all off; it’s not their fault since Nishinoya couldn’t correct anyone on the rumor that he’d be a butler for the afternoon without giving himself away.</p><p>Kiyoko waves him off when he tries to help with the cleaning up, telling him to get to class. “You’ll be late,” she tells him firmly when he tries to protest.</p><p>Nishinoya pretends to wipe a tear away from his face. “Shimizu-senpai, you’re an angel!”</p><p>“Just go already,” barks Daichi.</p><p>Nishinoya laughs before racing up to the clubroom to grab his bag before rushing to his class. Everything has been set up, from the tables and chairs, to the hang-up chalkboards advertising their menus to the corner where some of his classmates will be preparing the food and drinks. When Nishinoya comes in, some of his fellow maids and butlers are already dressed in their outfits. Tomoko descends on him; it’s clear that she’s anxious about this entire thing because she’s reminding him, and one of his female classmates, to get ready when their cafe won’t be open in fifteen minutes.</p><p>“Ok, at least lemme put my bag down. <em> Sheesh</em>.” Nishinoya dumps his bag in his cubicle after pulling out his maid costume. Thankfully, the restrooms aren’t too far down the hallway so he quickly changes. </p><p>Stepping out of the stall, he is greeted with the sight of his own person dressed up as a maid. Though he’s tried on the outfit a few times at home to get comfortable in it, the realization sinks in that he’ll be wearing this for the rest of the afternoon. Heat spills into his cheeks as he tries to tug the hem of his dress lower; the safety shorts help but it’s his thighs on display that’s making him feel a little embarrassed.</p><p><em> Stop fussing </em>, Nishinoya chides himself inwardly, At least you look cute. And if anyone tries to start shit with you, you can tell them to fuck right off or punch them in the face. Whichever is convenient. He takes a moment to adjust the frilly cap on his head, push away the strands of his hair from his face when the restroom door swings open.</p><p>His heart stops in his chest when he locks gazes with the two boys who entered. They seem just as surprised as he is, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.</p><p>“Eh, Noya-san?” says the boy on the left, whom Nishinoya recognizes as Class 2-5’s Uchida. “What are you doing in a … <em>in a dress</em>?” He looks Nishinoya up and down incredulously. </p><p>Nishinoya resists the urge to tug his dress down. “It’s for my class cafe,” he answers, eyebrows furrowing together.</p><p>The other boy, Class 2-1’s Takeshi, blushes. “U-um, I think you actually look good in the outfit,” he says before he purses his lips he can’t believe he just said that.</p><p>Nishinoya smiles. Well, if members of his own sex can admit that, then surely he’d have nothing to worry about. All he needs to do now is turn up the charm.</p><p>Tucking his clothes under an arm and picking up his sneakers, he sashays towards the door but stops before the two of them, who’ve stepped aside to make way for him. “Well, if you two have a bit of time later, do come and visit,” he tells the boys with a wink.</p><p>The last thing he sees before emerging into the hallway is the spreading blushes on their faces.</p><p>“Your main attraction has arrived,” he announces to the class, chest puffed as his classmates look up when he enters.</p><p>“Oh, wonderful,” says Tomoko distractedly as she plucks Nishinoya’s clothes and shoes out of his hands, exchanging them for some laminated menus and notepad. “Go get ready,” she says then turns away before Nishinoya can come up with a retort. </p><p>His male peers who were here for their shift, all dressed in the identical maid outfit as his, chat among themselves nervously.</p><p>“My reputation is ruined,” moans one of the boys, slouching against the wall. “No one’s ever going to let me forget this.”</p><p>“Why would you want to forget this?” asks Nishinoya with a slight frown.</p><p>Takumi narrows his eyes. “Noya, with all due respect we men are here in <em> dresses </em>.” He picks up the frilly bits at his shoulders with his fingers, eyebrows arching as he wiggles them. “Men don’t normally wear dresses.”</p><p>Nishinoya places a hand on his hip and laughs. “We Japanese men wear yukatas and kimonos, how is a maid outfit any different?” A murmur of agreement passes through the group. “It’s the 21st century, and you guys wearing a dress is hardly anything crazy. Besides, it’s not every day that you get to wear a maid outfit.”</p><p>Takumi frowns.</p><p>“And, you all look <em> amazing </em>. Never seen any better looking boys than today,” Nishinoya tells them and they blush from the compliment. </p><p>When Tomoko opens the cafe, customers trickle in, curious about the concept their class had to offer but delighted by the service when they leave. Within an hour, the room turns into a full house, with a long line snaking out into the corridor.</p><p>The customers seem to be more interested in the butler girls and Nishinoya doesn’t blame them; the girls are practically oozing with charm and charisma, delighting the customers of all genders. The boys took a bit of time to adjust to the attention but compliments from the customers help boost their confidence and by the end of the first hour, none of them seem to be self-conscious about their outfits.</p><p>Of course, some of the volleyball club members stop by. Kiyoko nodded approvingly at Nishinoya i’ll from across the room while one of the butler girls serves her and Yachi. Tanaka was shocked to see Nishinoya in a dress but cried about how good his best friend looked in it. Shouyou and Yamaguchi got really flustered but said they thought Nishinoya was cool. </p><p>However, every time a chorus of greetings rises when a new customer steps into the room, Nishinoya can’t help the nervous jolt in his stomach. He turns, half-hoping and half-dreading, but it never turns out to be the last person he expects to see.</p><hr/><p>“Ah, I’m so exhausted,” groans Asahi as he collapses into a chair. “I’ve never had to chase and scream at people like this in my entire life.”</p><p>“Of course not. You don’t have the heart to do such things,” says Suga, taking a seat beside him. He takes off his mask, his hair fluffing up in a halo from the static. Patting his hair down, he grabs a drink for the two of them from a nearby cooler. “I still can’t believe we got all the third-year classes to collaborate on this haunted house event,” he says, peering over his shoulder at the gymnasium, the other one the school had, that was currently being used as the venue for the event.</p><p>“Yeah, I mean, when you have the scary-intimidating class presidents getting together, anything is possible,” says Asahi. A few other students from his year step out from the gymnasium, their faces smeared with horrifying makeup. </p><p>The third years who were participating in helping out the scarers took shifts so that everyone could take a turn to help with the event and visit the other classes. Asahi’s and Suga’s shift just ended and they were supposed to meet Daichi in a couple of minutes here.</p><p>“So, do you want to go visit Noya’s class?” asks Suga, his finger playing with the tab of his soda can.</p><p>Asahi hesitates. “We don’t have to go see Nishinoya first,” he says with a frown. “Didn’t Kageyama mention his class was doing a speed painting and caricature drawing thing? The three of us could go and get our portraits painted together. And, Narita said his class is doing a bake-sale —</p><p>Suga makes an impatient noise, rolling his eyes. “You’re dodging the question,” he points out with the mild tone of exasperation only Asahi can get out of him.</p><p>Asahi bites his lip. The truth is, while he’d love to go support Nishinoya and visit his class, he doesn’t know what to expect. Nishinoya had been pretty vague about the details, never confirming nor denying, and even though Asahi is curious to see what his class is up to, he doesn’t know if he can handle what he’ll see.</p><p>Nishinoya in a suit … as a <em> butler </em>. That’s a bit too much for him to wrap his head around without his heart racing and his face getting hot and his thoughts veering off into fantasies wouldn’t dare voice aloud.</p><p>“Oh, we should <em> definitely </em> go see Noya’s class,” says Daichi, overhearing their conversation as he joins them. Like the previous students who just left, he also had gruesome makeup on his face, which made his smile look terrifying. “I heard a few people talking about it earlier.”</p><p>Both Asahi and Suga perk up with interest. “What did they say? Is it good? Is it going well?” asks Asahi, unable to help himself. Heat rushes into his cheeks when Daichi and Suga round on him with the same teasing smirks on their faces.</p><p>“Wouldn’t <em> you </em> love to know,” muses Daichi. He plucks the drink out of Suga’s hand, despite the cooler full of canned drinks behind him, and takes a long sip much to Suga’s annoyance. Asahi sighs, rolling his eyes; he loved his best friends but he can’t help feeling a little irked every time they remind him of how single he is. “So, to Noya’s class we go?”</p><p>“Yeah!” Suga answers, pumping his fist while Asahi mutters some half-hearted protest. Daichi ignores Asahi, of course, and drags him by the arms out of the chair while Suga cheers the both of them on. They stop by at the restrooms to wash off the makeup and change out of their horror costumes before dropping it off with the students for the next shift.</p><p>The students crowding the corridors and stairwells are either visiting class to class while there were a handful giving out flyers to attract customers to their classes. Asahi accepts a few, only because they were waving it in his face and he didn’t want them to feel bad by saying “No, thank you.”</p><p>Thankfully, they don’t head right over to Nishinoya’s class, at least not yet. They visit the first-year’s classes first, taking a moment to browse through the flea market at Kageyama’s, arts and crafts sale in Hinata’s class, then the donut shop at Yachi’s before stopping by at Tsukishima’s for the caricature drawing session.</p><p>While waiting for Suga and Daichi, who were getting their portraits together done, Asahi thumbs through the leaflets. There are a few interesting ones like Dance Dance Revolution at Tanaka’s class, and indoor bowling at Kinoshita’s. The animation club happens to be selling zines while the drama club would be doing reenactments of famous movie scenes at the assembly hall. </p><p>Asahi was in the middle of examining the drama club’s schedule when he overhears a conversation</p><p>“Hey, did you hear about what Class 2-3 was doing?” one of the girls nearby asks her friend. “I heard their maid cafe concept is taking off.”</p><p>“Maid and butler cafe, you mean,” corrects her friend before sighing loudly, the flyer in her hand fluttering up to cover her face. “Oh, it doesn’t help that all the hotties are there.”</p><p>Asahi couldn’t help agreeing; most of Nishinoya’s classmates were good-looking.</p><p>“Eh, I heard one of the boys is pretty popular with the customers, though,” says the girl. “What was his name … Nishiya-senpai?” Asahi resists the urge to correct her as she continues to guess Nishinoya’s name wrongly. “Anyway, the one that got in trouble with the VP for starting a fight in the corridor with a third-year.”</p><p>“Oh, you mean, Noya-senpai!” Her friend laughs. “Wait, I thought he got in trouble for pushing the VP when he tried to stop the fight.”</p><p>Asahi holds back a sigh; when did these rumors of Nishinoya yelling at him in front of the vice principal’s office get out of hand? Was that why people looked terrified of him for a whole month after that happened? </p><p>“Anyway, he’s really popular with the customers!” insists the girl. “I thought it was weird when I heard about it—y’know, how he has that reputation for being super blunt, after all—but everyone’s saying how charming he was. Also I heard he was wearing a —”</p><p>Before Asahi can catch the rest of the sentence, Daichi and Suga come up to him, Suga’s voice calling his name drowning out the girl’s voice. “Hope you didn’t wait too long!” Suga grins as he waves their caricatures, one for the three of them and one of just him and Daichi. “I’ll probably have to make copies for each of us,” adds Suga with a thoughtful frown.</p><p>“Yeah, just don’t give me yours and Daichi’s,” jokes Asahi.</p><p>Daichi smirks. “Now now, you don’t want pictures of your parents?” he asks, pretending to be offended. Asahi rolls his eyes and gets out of his chair. They banter with each other as they squeeze past the congested corridors up the stairs. </p><p>It’s only when they reach the floor that Asahi realizes two things: the direction they’re heading and the long line stretching out along the corridor. Asahi’s steps falter; he wonders if this is the line for Nishinoya’s class or for Narita’s class or one of the second-year’s classes. Anything but Nishinoya’s class. Daichi and Suga proceed ahead without him, heads bent towards each other as they admire their caricatures. Asahi’s chest tightens; are they really going to go to Nishinoya’s class first?</p><p>He takes a step forward, mouth opening to call his friends’ names when a girl’s voice calls him. He looks up, noticing Nishinoya’s class president Tomoko waving at him. He manages a friendly smile as she comes over. </p><p>“Asahi-senpai! Good to see you here,” she says cheerily. “Here, take a flyer.” She thrusts out one of the flyers from her hand, which Asahi accepts.</p><p>“Hey, Tomoko-chan. You’re not dressed in a maid outfit,” he muses aloud. </p><p>Tomoko gives him a funny smile and shakes her head. “Oh no, I’m not with the maid and butler crew. It’s not my job,” she explains. “But do visit our class!” With that, she whisks off to wave flyers under the nose of the next student. Before Asahi has a chance to look at the flyer from Tomoko, Daichi and Suga call him over to join them at the line.</p><p>A girl comes along asking each customer how many people they’re dining with. The strains of classical music from Nishinoya’s classroom can barely be heard over the chatters around them. Asahi cranes his neck to see if he can peer into the windows of Nishinoya’s classroom but he can only make out the designs on the chalkboard and glimpses of other customers as they’re some distance away.</p><p>The girl, who’s asking all the customers how many people they’re with, approaches the three of them. With a start, Asahi notices she’s in a suit, her short hair slicked back, and a charming smile on her face. “Welcome to the Twelfth Night cafe,” she says smoothly before asking if the three of them are together. “I apologize for the long wait. It seems we have a full house this afternoon.”</p><p>The three of them exchange looks. Tomoko must’ve really gone all out to teach them how to speak super formally.</p><p>“Oh, what’s with the name of the cafe?” asks Daichi as he plucks the flyer from their cafe out of Asahi’s hand. </p><p>The girl smiles graciously. “It’s a reference to one of Shakespeare’s plays,” she explains. Asahi frowns a little; he can barely understand Japanese works of literature, much less English ones. The only Shakespeare work he knew was Romeo &amp; Juliet. Wasn’t there one where the phrase ‘To be or not to be,’ came from? Anyway, he didn’t know much about English works of literature. Before he can ask the girl, she moves on to the next customer. Asahi turns to Suga for explanation.</p><p>“Don’t look at me,” says Suga coyly.</p><p>Asahi narrows his eyes. He pulls out his phone but his battery is inconveniently dead—he really ought to have the battery replaced for this one—when a long, suffering groan comes out of him. Daichi and Suga exchange grins but don’t say anything. </p><p>The line shuffles along slowly and Asahi, growing weary of trying to see what was going on in the classroom, decides to watch the dance club practicing outside. It’s only when they’ve nearly reached the end of the line when Suga nudges Asahi’s side. </p><p>“Oh, Noya looks really cute in that outfit,” says Suga.</p><p>With a frown, Asahi turns fully around to peer into the classroom windows. His eyes widen at the sight of one of the boys wearing a maid costume, complete with the frilly cap and apron and white leggings, and a smile before his gaze flits around the boys in the class. It’s only when his gaze settles on the last boy, whose back is turned, does his heart do a slow flip in his chest. His mouth starts falling open when the boy turns, revealing the familiar curve of lips and lively eyes and that section of blond hair contrasting sharply with the rest of his dark hair.</p><p>Asahi can’t seem to pick his jaw off the floor as his face heats up at the sight. He blinks once, twice, then squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head—that always seemed to do the trick when he was having weird dreams—but those do nothing to dispel the sight of Nishinoya in a short dress, with those knee socks that accentuated the shape of his legs. </p><p>He’d rather dig his own grave than admit that he had considered the possibility of Nishinoya in a maid costume but he had been so certain the chances were microscopic and that this was the sort of thing only his teenage hormone-riddled brain could think of.</p><p>“Is this for real?” Asahi gawks. His face is hot to the touch.</p><p>“I mean if I’m seeing Noya in a maid outfit and you’re seeing it too, then I’m sure it’s real,” says Daichi. Asahi frowns at him and Suga; how on earth is Daichi unfazed and why does Suga seem so delighted? </p><p>Suga catches Asahi’s expression and tinkling laughter comes out of him. A lopsided grin curls his lips upwards. “What’s with that face?” he asks teasingly, causing Asahi’s face to heat up even more.</p><p>“Is it too late to turn back?” Asahi wants to ask but one of the boys in a maid costume ushers them inside. Daichi and Suga walk into the room like it’s no big deal but Asahi feels like he’s walking towards a certain death, a disaster he can’t stop from happening. He’s pretty sure his face has caught on fire, and that he looks like he’s sweating like an emergency water sprinkler. He keeps his eyes on the floor, for the fear of crossing eyes with Nishinoya.</p><p>He can’t. He just can’t. His brain would explode. His entire being would combust out of existence.</p><p>Asahi’s body moves on autopilot, executing the motions jerkily as he pulls out his chair, takes a seat and holds out the menu in front of him. The text and pictures on the menu seem to blur together in wavering lines of black and colors, with the glare from the fluorescent lights overhead reflecting off the laminated surface flashing here and there. The noises around him take on a fuzzy, sort of underwater-sounding quality. </p><p>God, if Nishinoya is going to come up to them, Asahi would gladly pass away on the spot.</p><p>“Oh, Nishinoya, what a surprise!” exclaims Daichi, his voice snapping Asahi back to the present. </p><p>Looks like he’d have to pass away now.</p><p>Nishinoya greets them in a very formal way that Asahi wouldn’t have imagined Nishinoya using in any normal situation with them. His eyes twinkle when he catches Asahi’s gaze, turning all of Asahi’s insides into mush; he quickly directs his gaze away but then they land on the edge of the table. Where he can, unfortunately, see Nishinoya knee-socks clad legs and bare thighs. The thighs.</p><p>Look, it’s not that Asahi hasn’t seen thighs, or Nishinoya’s thighs before. After all, shorts were part of their volleyball jerseys. But Nishinoya in a short dress with the lower half of his thighs in view, those socks — yeah, Asahi can’t function properly anymore.</p><p>“Hey, big guy, eyes up here.” </p><p>Asahi gives a start, brown eyes wide as he looks back up at Nishinoya.</p><p>Suga laughs. “Is that any way to be talking to a customer as a maid?” he teases</p><p>Nishinoya smiles, like the summer sky, and says, “My apologies, sir. What would Asahi-sama like to have on this lovely afternoon?”</p><p>Asahi’s mouth goes dry as he turns his attention back to the menu. “Um,” he says, like the big fool he is. </p><p>Nishinoya lets out a small noise, which takes Asahi a second to register as a giggle. Asahi’s face reddens even more. “I … I’ll leave it up to you,” he mumbles, growing a new fascination with the flowered print of the table mat.</p><p>“Oh, before you go,” Suga begins as Nishinoya collects the menus from them. “Could you please take a picture for us?” He holds out his phone, the little bird charm on his case dangling in the air. Asahi’s stomach sinks when Nishinoya agrees, and watches, as if in slow motion, Nishinoya reaching for the phone.</p><p>Asahi is pretty sure his smile looked pained as Nishinoya takes their pictures for them. Daichi, like the evil person he is, also cheekily asks if they could all take selfies with Nishinoya. Some part of Asahi wails in despair when Nishinoya agrees to that as well.</p><p>While waiting for their orders, Daichi and Suga amuse themselves by teasing poor defenseless Asahi and his selfie with Nishinoya. “Oh, look at you blushing like that with Nishinoya. How adorable,” Suga coos as he admires the picture on his phone before sending it to the volleyball club’s  group chat. “You literally look redder than a tomato!”</p><p>“That’s not physiologically possible,” Asahi argues in a low defensive murmur but Suga is right. He couldn’t have been more of a flustered mess in front of Nishinoya. If he won’t hear the end of this from Daichi and Suga, no doubt he’d also have to suffer being teased by Nishinoya. They’d never let him forget about this. Ever.</p><hr/><p>Nishinoya sneaks glances over at the table where Asahi, Daichi and Suga were seated, enjoying the food and drinks they ordered. The corners of his mouth curl upwards slightly at the sight of Asahi, whose ears are tinged with red.</p><p>While it was a huge relief that his upperclassmen didn’t think he was weird—in fact, both Daichi and Suga complimented him—he was really satisfied with the impression he left on Asahi. He hadn’t expected Asahi to turn into a huge mess in front of him, in fact, he felt silly about being afraid about what Asahi would think about him.</p><p>Tomoko approaches him, looking pleased with how well their cafe is doing. “Hiroto should be here soon to take over for you,” she tells him, checking her phone. She takes a moment to look Nishinoya up and down and nods at him. “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d take to this whole crossdressing thing this easily,” she admits.</p><p>Nishinoya raises his eyebrows. “Are you kidding? It’s nice,” he says. “The dress, I mean. It’s not too bad with the safety shorts down there and all but yeah, I mean, it’s alright. At least I look good in it, that’s what matters.” </p><p>Tomoko snorts, eyes shining with amusement. “No, I mean, I really thought someone like you would put up a fight about it.” She shrugs. “Anyway, thanks for giving the pep talk to the guys earlier.”</p><p>“No biggie,” says Nishinoya airily with a wave of his hand. “They shouldn’t have to be so self-conscious about it.” </p><p>Hiroto shows up not too long after to take over for Nishinoya, and Nishinoya being the best classmate he is, compliments Hiroto on his outfit. He gets a half-exasperated half-dismissive wave of Hiroto’s hand but grins and gives his classmate a pat on the shoulder. </p><p>As he changes back to his school uniform in the restrooms, he’s pleased to overhear some conversations from outside the stall about his class’s cafe. When he returns to his classroom, he joins the third-years at the table.</p><p>“So,” he says, the volume of his voice causing Asahi to jump in his seat as he slides into the chair beside Asahi. “What do you think?”</p><p>“I’ve gotta admit,” begins Daichi with an amused shake of his head as he reaches for his drink. “You really set us up there with our expectations of you being a butler only to show up as a maid.”</p><p>Nishinoya laughs. “Was it Shouyou who told you all that I was going to be a butler?”</p><p>Daichi sticks out his chin in Asahi’s direction. “He did.”</p><p>Asahi looks like he’s trying his best to shrink into the chair. Nishinoya grins at him</p><p>“Anyway, you were <em> amazing </em>,” promises Suga, eyes twinkling.</p><p>“Asahi?” Daichi prompts, nudging Asahi’s foot under the table. </p><p>Asahi gives a small start, a flush spreading across his cheeks again, as he turns to look at NIshinoya. A sheepish look crosses his features as he manages a small smile. “I think it was great,” he mumbles. Suga teases him for such an underwhelming response but Nishinoya can’t blame him; the poor boy looks like his brain is still fried. But even if Asahi’s current opinion wasn’t much to begin with, it manages to fill Nishinoya with a giddy warmth.</p><p>After the third-years finish their drinks, they all get up to leave.</p><p>While Daichi and Suga walk on ahead, Nishinoya takes this opportunity to speak to Asahi again. “So,” he begins casually, matching his pace with Asahi’s as they pass down the crowded corridor. “What did you think?” he asks.</p><p>Asahi averts his gaze but there’s no mistaking the blush on his face. “What do you want me to say?” he asks in a small voice.</p><p>Nishinoya arches his eyebrows, a lopsided grin hanging off his lips. “Oh, whatever’s on your mind, really,” he says teasingly. When Asahi reddens even more, he can’t help the bubble of laughter escaping him. “I’m just messing with you. You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable about —”</p><p>“I liked it.” </p><p>Even though Nishinoya already guessed that, seeing the way Asahi acted earlier, hearing it straight from Asahi still catches him off-guard. His own face heats up, all traces of playfulness wiped off his expression as he looks up at Asahi with wide, hopeful eyes. “For real?”</p><p>Asahi nods, lips pressed together, as he glances sideways at Nishinoya.  “I hope you don’t think it’s weird or —”</p><p>“No, no.” Nishinoya shakes his head; he was feeling pretty relieved earlier but the additional confirmation, as well as Asahi’s worry that he thought it was weird to like what he saw, lifts another burden off his shoulders. He grins like an idiot, pushing his fingers through his hair as he puts on his cap backwards. “I’m actually pretty glad you are.” Then, feeling a bit bolder, he catches Asahi by the sleeve.</p><p>Asahi turns to him, eyebrows arched and lips parting with surprise, when Nishinoya leans close and his voice drops below a whisper: “I could put it on for you when we’re alone together, if you’d like.” A rush of satisfaction passes through him when Asahi stammers his response.</p><p>“Why do you always tease me like this?” sighs Asahi, hands fluttering over his face. “Do you enjoy watching me all embarrassed like this?”</p><p>Nishinoya laughs, arms wrapping around Asahi’s. Normally he wouldn’t have acted like this but being giddy about your crush’s adorable reaction to you in a maid outfit tended to affect you like that. Because of that, Nishinoya is feeling a little bolder than usual; he would also like to kick down that metaphorical door and be honest about his feelings for Asahi. “It’s only because I like you,” he says.</p><p>Asahi stops in his tracks, his hands coming off his face as he turns to look at Nishinoya. "Really?" he asks. It’s those wide brown eyes of his and parted lips that does it for Nishinoya. </p><p>Nishinoya’s hands slip down Asahi’s arm to clasp his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he keeps his eyes locked with Asahi’s. “Yeah, I really like you. Thought you should know,” he tries to say coolly but his tone wavers a little at the end.</p><p>Asahi blinks when a slow, shy but sweet smile spreads across his face. His hand squeezes Nishinoya’s back; the gesture makes Nishinoya’s heart swell with warmth. “I like you too,” he says.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>if anyone is still wondering about the title, which refers to shakespeare's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night">the twelfth night</a>, um just know that i've never actually read it ?? like i took a literature class (which i dropped out of) in high school and one of the readings we had to do was abt the twelfth night. idk i remember there was some crossdressing involved??? but yeah lets not think too much about that hahhah</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/azunshi">twitter</a> | <a href="https://avatarclub.tumblr.com">tumblr</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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